Traditional seating structures such as for use in a vehicle, office environment or residential setting are formed from relatively thick urethane foam buns mounted on semi-flexible spring wire constructions. These foam buns are, in turn, typically covered with an aesthetically pleasing fabric cover for contacting the user. As will be readily appreciated, the use of such a multiplicity of components (i.e. springs, cushions and covers) all of which are attached to a frame gives rise to a relatively complicated assembly practice.
In order to reduce the number of components in seating structures and to reduce the bulk thereof, it has been proposed to provide thin profile seats, including thin seats using elastomeric seat backing material. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,251,318 to Blair et al, solid rubber tape or strips reinforced by fabric are stretched over a seat frame. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,614 to Abu-Isa et al., (incorporated by reference) a thin profile vehicle seat is disclosed in which a multiplicity of side by side elastomeric filaments made from a block copolymer of polytetramethylene terephthalate polyester and polytetramethylene ether are stretched across a vehicle seat frame. U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,554 to Abu-Isa et al., issued Sep. 26, 1989 (incorporated by reference) discloses a thin profile seat in which elastomeric filaments like that of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,614 are woven together to form a mat. The mat was prestretched to at least 5 percent elongation and attached to a seat frame. U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,089 to Abu-Isa et al., (incorporated by reference) discloses a seat assembly having an elastomeric filament suspension and a fabric cover. The filament suspension and the fabric cover are integrated by having the elastomeric filaments and the fabric knitted together to provide a low profile finished seat or backrest.
The present invention provides a seating structure wherein the support surfaces (i.e. the seat and backrest) comprise a weft insertion knitted which can be formed in a single operation on one knitting machine. The fabric has an aesthetic side suitable for contacting the user of the seating structure. The structure of the fabric is such that it also has a performance side to provide the user with resilient support during repeated use. The present invention therefore represents a useful advancement over the state of the art.